Housing for fuse devices



Sept. 22, 1942. w. o. SCHULTZ EIAL HOUSING FOR FUSE DEVICES Filed April 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1942. w. o. SCHULTZ arm.

HOUSING FOR FUSE DEVICES Filed April 25, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 2 r3 IR" I; f 77 ATTORNEY p 22, 1942- w. o. SCHULTZ ETAL 2,296,653

HOUSING FOR FUSE DEVICES Filed April 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 @4/ 4 I" A 61 w 60- 9 o i 60 1 .62

ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 22, 1942 HOUSING FOB FUSE DEVICES William 0. Schultz, South Milwaukee, and Alwin G. Steinmayer, Milwaukee, Wis., assisnors to Line Material Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a cornotation of Delaware Application April 25, 1941, Serial No. 390,296

23 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in housings for fuse devices.

Conventional type fuse housings (made of porcelain or other suitable insulating material) are constructed as a one-piece unit and'include a pair of spaced line terminals, one located in the upper end of the housing and the other located in the lower end of the housing and are separated by means of an electrical creepage barrier which acts to increase the creepage distance between the line terminals.

It is well known that under constant weather exposure and electrical use the interior of the housing, including the creepage surface between the line terminals, becomes coated with foreign matter as, for example, vaporized parts of previously ruptured fuse links. This foreign matter acts to provide a conductive path between the terminals, thereby providing conditions favorable to cause a flashover between the live parts.

This invention is designed to overcome the above noted conditions, and, therefore, the one primary object of this invention is to provide for a current-responsive assembly a novel form of housing including a pair of housing sections, each enclosing a line terminal, at least one oi the sections being supported for movement away from the other section and supporting currentresponsive assembly for movement thereon in response to current flow through the assembly, the current-responsive assembly controlling the relative movement of the sections, whereby under circuit interrupted conditions the sections move apart to introduce an extended air gap between the terminals.

The housing disclosed in the copending application of William D. Kyle, Serial No. 390,298, filed April 25, 1941, for Fuse housing with air gap, is the same structure as that disclosed herein, but claimed more broadly therein than in this application.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view in side elevation, showing the improved housing.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view in side elevation,

showing the device in open circuit position.

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation, partly in section, with the door removed.

Figs. 5 and 6 are views taken on the lines 5--5 and 8-6 respectively of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a view in front elevation, showing a cross-arm mounting of the improved housing and the arrangement of conductor leads thereto.

Like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

Referring to the several views, numeral It designates an upper housing section made of any suitable insulating material as, for example, porcelain. The housing section includes side walls II and i2, a rear wall I2, and a top wall II. The housing section is open at its front and bottom. The side walls II and i2 are each provided with conductor openings Ii extending downwardly to the exterior of the housing. The lower portion of each side wall terminates in a weather skirt ll clearly shown in Fig. 4.

The exterior portion of the rear wall it is provided with a bracket mounting stud ll cemented in the recess I2, and on its interior face with a terminal mounting stud l9 cemented in the recess 20. The lower end of the wall I! terminates in a creepage barrier 2| extending between the side walls II and I2.

A lower housing section 22, made of any suitable insulating material as, for example, porcelain, includes side walls 22 and 24, and a rear wall 25 which terminates at its upper end in a creepage barrier 28 extending between the side walls 22 and 24. The housing section is open at its top, front, and bottom.

The exterior portion of the rear wall 25 is provided with a pivot mounting arm 21 cemented in the recess 28, and on its interior face with a terminal mounting stud 28 and a hinge mem-' ber 30 spaced below the stud and cemented in the recess 3|.

The hinge member includes a pair of spaced legs 32, each terminating in a pivot bearing receiving hook 23. A stop member 24 is disposed between the legs 22 in integral relation therewith and includes an alignment head 35 adapted for purposes hereinafter described.

The housing sections l0 and 22 are held in cooperative relationship to each other by means of a hinge assembly comprising a U-strap 36 including parallel spaced horizontal legs 21 and 38. The strap 20 is mounted on the stud l1 and is held in place as shown by the nut 39 drawn tightly against the spring washer III. A second U-strap ll including parallel spaced vertical legs 42 is secured to the lower horizontal leg 38 of the strap 38 in any convenient manner as by welding, not shown. The lower end of each vertical leg 42 is provided with an aperture 43 in axial alignment with each other and receives therein a pivot pin 44 upon which is pivotally mounted the lower housing section 22 by means of the pivot arm 21 which moves about the pivot bearing 45. The free end of the arm 21 is provided with a stop means 46 which engages the outer end of the leg 38 to limit the downward pivotal movement (If the lower housing section 22 about the pin 44 as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The housing sections III and 22 are mounted to any suitable support as, for example, a cross arm 41, partly shown. by means of a well known type of swivel hanger 48 comprising cooperating angle arms 49 bolted at their ends (not shown) to the cross arm and secured to the upper horizontal leg 38 by means of the bolt 50. It will be noted that with the sections mounted in the manner described and as shown in Fig. 1, the lower section 22 is positioned to move by gravity away from the upper housing II and thereby introduce an extended gap 5! between the sections as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The housing sections l and 22 are held against separation one from the other by means of a fuse cartridge and door assembly removably and pivotally mounted on the hinge member 30.

The assembly comprises a door 52 made of any suitable insulating material as, for example, a phenolic condensation compound, and a fuse cartridge 53 slidably mounted on a sleevelike contact 54 secured adjacent the lower end of the door by means of screws 55.

The contact 54 includes a gas barrier 58 adapted to close the lower end of the housing section 22 against gases and other foreign matter.

The gas barrier 55 which extends downwardly and to one side of the cartridge 52 terminates in a pair of spaced and axially aligned apertured legs 51. A pivot pin 55 is rigidly held by the legs 51 and is received in the hooks 82 to act as a hinge element about which the door assembly pivotally rotates.

The upper end of the fuse cartridge 53 is provided with aferrule 55 having oppositely disposed contact shoulders I and a closure cap 6i threaded thereon, The lower and o! the cartridge is provided with a toggle mechanism. The mechanism comprises a ring l2 rigidly secured to the cartridge 5, by means of the pin 44. A rigid arm 45 extends downwardly and outwardly from the ring to pivotally support a link member '6 at 51. The link member 58 engages the pivot pin 5| at II and is held against pivotal rotation by means 01! the fuse link I! mounted in the cartridge 52. The flexible leader ll of the link is secured to the link member '5 by means of the knurled nut Ii adjacent the lower end of the cartridge 58.

The lower terminal stud 29 supports a U- shaped spring contact clip 12 secured to a plate 13 by means of rivets I4. The plate is secured to the stud 2! by screws I5. The upper terminal stud It supports a U-shaped spring contact clip 18 and a pair of spaced biasing contact members 11 secured to a plate II by means of rivets 79. Both plates 18 and I! carry a conductor clamp comprising a pair of screws ll slidably received in the plate and threadedly engaging a contact plate 8|. In this manner line conductors extending into the housing sections through the apertures l5 are electrically connected to the terminals.

An electric circuit is completed between the spaced terminal clips 12 and 15 by moving the fused cartridge and door assembly arcuately upward about the pivot pin 58 by means of a hot line stick inserted in the door manipulating ring 82. It may be noted at this time that the cartridge 5! is held upwardly on the door by means of the link member it which engages the pivot pin 5| and is held in position by means of the leader 10 secured to the knurled nut II. By moving the assembly upwardly about the pin 58, the contact 54 is brought into frictional engagement with the spring clips 12. The upper side of the gas barrier 58 engages the alignment head 35, thereby preventing relative movement between the assembly and the lower housing section 22 to move as a unit arcuately upwardly about the pivot pin 44. Further upward movement of the unit permits interlocking engagement of the closure cap 6| with the spring contact clip 16, thereby closing the circuit between the terminal clips through the fuse link 29. It may be noted that the ends of the clip 16 are arcuately bent inwardly to securely grip and hold the cartridge and door assembly and lower housing section 22 upwardly against gravity in circuit closing position. It may further be noted that the biasing members ll engage the upper end of the shoulders 60 to bias the cartridge 53 vertically downwardly. It is still further noted that the upper end of the lower housing section 22 is received within the weather skirt l5, thereby eil'ecting a unitary housing for the cartridge 53; that the creepage barriers 2| and 26 are aligned in opposed relation and include an extensible air gap 83 therebetween; and that the door 52 closes the front portion of each housing section, thereby cooperating with the gas barrier and housing sections to completely enclose the live the hooked end 88 becomes disengaged from the pin 55 and the cartridge drops vertically downward in the sleeve portion on the contact 54. The closure cap ll of the cartridge 53 is disengaged from the spring clip 16 and the door assembly and lowerhousing section 22 pivots by gravity downwardly, as a unit, about the pivot pin 44 into the position shown in Fig. 3. In this position the live terminal parts of the device are completely separated by means of the gap 5|, and flash-over due to creepage between the parts is eliminated.

It is also noted that the separated housing sections permit ease in visually locating the blown fuse.

The device is refused by disengaging the door assembly from the lower section 22 by means of a hot line stick, not shown, inserted in the ring 82 and pulling downwardly to disengage the lower spring contact I2 from the contact 54 and then removing the assembly from the hooks 33.

The closure cap Si is removed and a new link inserted in the cartridge 53. The cartridge is moved upwardly in the sleeve contact 54 to permit engagement of the hook end of the link member 6G with the pivot pin 58 and then held in this position by securing the flexible leader Iii of the link to the knurled nut I i. The refused assembly is mounted on the lower unit in the manner hereinbeiore described.

In Fig. 7 the fuse device is shown mounted by means of the support 49 on a cross-arm 85 (fragmentarily shown). The cross-arm is braced at 88 and supports line insulators 87 to which line conductors 88 and 89 are connected. Under any electrical arrangement of the fuse device as, for example, the use of the fuse device as a sectionalizing fuse, it is necessary to connect the conductor 8! to the lower section 22 in such a manner that the lower section 22 is free to pivot away from the upper section II. Should the fuse device be mounted in such a manner as to prevent pivotal movement of the lower section of the housing, the advantages of the sectional housing would not be realized under circuit open condition. Proper connection of the conductor lead 89 to the lower section may be accomplished in several ways, one way being shown in Fig. '7 wherein the conductor lead 89 is formed in a loop at 90 before being attached to the lower section 22. This loop permits the housing connected end of the conductor to swing freely with the section 22, thereby permitting the section 22 to move freely to gap extended position.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the objects of this invention have been attained by providing for a fuse device a housing means comprising separable sections whereby under circuit interrupted condition the sections move apart to establish an extended gap between the live parts of the device.

We claim:

1. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact; carried by each of said sections, a cartridge support means carried by one of said sections and interconnected with one of said terminal contacts, a fuse cartridge mounted on said support means and including a cartridge contact interconnectable with the other of said terminal contacts, and a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said cartridge contact and said support means, said link being directly connected to said support means to control the movement of said cartridge and said sections.

2. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a cartridge support means carried by one of said sections and interconnected with one of said terminal contacts, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said support means and including a cartridge contact releasably connectable with the other of said terminal contacts, and a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said cartridge contact and said support means, said link being directly connected at one end to said support means to control the movement of said sections.

3 An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a cartridge support means carried by one of said sections and interconnected with the terminal contact on said one section, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said support means, a cartridge contact carried at one end of said cartridge and releasably connectable with the terminal contact on the other of said sections, and a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said cartridge contact and said support means, said link being directly connected to said support means to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and said sections in cartridge housing position.

4. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising an upper and lower section, a hinge means interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a cartridge support means carried by said lower section and interconnected with said lower terminal contact, a fuse cartridge slidablymounted on said support means, a terminal means on said cartridge for releasable contact with said upper terminal contact, and a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal means and said support means, said link being directly connected to said support means to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and said sections in cartridge housing position, said sections being permitted to move apart upon rupture of said link and disengagement of said terminal means from said upper terminal contact.

5. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a cartridge support means pivotally carried by one of said sections and interconnectable with one of said terminal contacts, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said support means and including a cartridge contact interconnectable with the other of said terminal contacts, a stop means on said cartridge support means adapted to limit the relative movement between said support means and said one section, and a fuse link carried by said, cartridge and electrically connecting said cartridge contact and said support means, said link being directly connected to said support means to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and said sections in cartridge housing position.

6. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising an upper and lower section, a, hinge means interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a contact sleeve carried by said lower section, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said sleeve and including a cartridge contact interconnectable with said upper terminal contact, a contact lever pivotally carried by said cartridge remote from said cartridge contact and releasably interconnectable with said contact sleeve, a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said link being directly connected to said lever contact to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and said sections in cartridge housing position.

7. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means pivotally interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a contact sleeve carried by one of said sections, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said sleeve and including an upper contact, a lever support carried by said cartridge remote from said upper contact, a lever means pivotally carried by said lever support and adapted to be releasably interconnected withsaid sleeve, a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said link being connected to said lever to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and control the separation of said sections.

8. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means pivotally interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a door carried by one of said sections, a contact sleeve carried by said door, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said sleeve and including an upper contact, a lever support carried by said cartridge remote from said upper contact, a lever means pivotally carried by said lever support and adapted to be releasably interconnected with said sleeve, a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said link being connected to said lever to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and control the separation of said sections, said door being adapted for moving said sections into cartridge housing position and closing said sections against direct weathering.

9. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means'pivotally interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a support means carried by one of said sections, a contact sleeve carried by said support means, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said sleeve and including an upper contact, a lever support carried by said cartridge remote from said upper contact, a lever means pivotally carried by said lower contact and adapted to be releasably interconnected with said support means, a fuse link carried by said cartridgeand electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said link being connected to said lever to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and control the separation of said sections.

10. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising separable sections, a hinge means pivotally interconnecting said sections, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a support means carried by one of said sections, a contact sleeve carried by said support means, a fusecartridge slidably mounted on said sleeve, an upper contact on said cartridge, a lever support carried by said cartridge remote from said upper contact, a lever means pivotally carried by said lever support and adapted to be releasably interconnected with said contact sleeve, a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said link being directly connected to said lever means to hold said cartridge in circuit closing position and said sections in cartridge housing position.

11. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising an upper and lower section, support means for securing said upper section to a support, a pivot arm secured to said lower section and pivotally mounted on said support means, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a contact sleeve carried by said lower section, a fuse cartridge slidably mounted on said sleeve, an upper contact on said cartridge interconnectable with said upper terminal contact, a lever member carried by said cartridge and releasably connected to said sleeve, a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said fuse link being directly connected to said lever member whereby said cartridge is held in interconnected relationship with said upper terminal contact and said sections are held in cartridge housing position.

12. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising an upper and lower section, a pivot arm secured to said lower section and pivotally carried by said upper section, terminal contacts carried by each of said sections, a conductive cartridge support carried by said lower section and connected to said lower terminal contact, a cartridge slidably carried by said support, a toggle mechanism releasably interconnecting said cartridge and said support, a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said terminal contacts, said link controlling the pivotal movement of said lower section through said toggle mechanism by holding said cartridge in locked position with said upper terminal contact.

13. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising an upper and lower section, a

pivot arm secured to said lower section and pivot-' ally connected to said upper section, a stop means on said arm adapted to limit the movement of said lower section with respect to said upp r section by engagement with said upper section, terminal contacts carried by each of said sections, and a fuse link electrically connecting said terminals and adapted to hold said lower section in link housing position.

14. An insulating housing for a fuse device, said housing comprising an upper and lower section, said upper and lower sections each including an open front and bottom, said lower section including an open top, support members secured to each of said sections and pivotally interconnected whereby said lower sections may be moved in or out of cartridge housing position, a door carried by said lower section whereby said lower section may be moved into cartridge housing position and to close said open fronts, a terminal contact carried by each of said sections, a cartridge carried by said lower section and interconnecting said contacts, and a fuse link carried by said cartridge and electrically connecting said contacts, said link holding said sections in cartridge housing position.

15. In a fuse device of the character described, a housing comprising a pair of spaced relatively movable sections, a terminal in each-of said sections, a fuse cartridge bridging said terminals and movably supported by one of said sections, and a fuse link in said cartridge normally holding said tube against movement, said tube serving as a latch normally holding said sections against relative movement prior to rupture of said fuse link.

16. In a fuse device of the character described, a housing comprising a pair of relatively spaced sections, one of which is movably mounted and biased for movement away from the other, a terminal in each of said sections, a fuse cartridge movably supported by the movable section, and bridging said terminals, and a fuse link in said cartridge normally holding said tube stationary relative to said movable section, said cartridge co-acting with the terminals to latch said movable section against movement.

17. In a fuse device of the character described, a housing comprising a pair of relatively spaced sections, one of which is movably mounted and biased for movement away from the other, a terminal in each of said sections, a fuse cartridge movably supported by the movable section and bridging said terminals, a fuse link in said cartridge normally holding said tube stationary relative to said movable section, said cartridge coacting with the terminals to latch said movable section against movement, and a door pivotally carried by one of the sections and normally closing said sections.

18. A h'oused fuse comprising: a housing divided intermediately of its length to form two complementary normally adjacent parts at least one of which is movable relatively to the other to effect separation therebetween, each of said parts being recessed complementarily to the other to form a substantially continuous fuse-chamber extending lengthwise of the housing, a pair of spaced terminals, each carried by one of said parts individually and disposed within said fuse-chamher, the movable part or parts of said housing being biased for movement away from the other, fuse structure within said fuse-chamber including an expulsion cartridge extending lengthwise of said chamber and a fuse-link extending through said cartridge and normally electrically interconnecting said terminals, and latching means dependent upon the integrity of said fuse-link for normally restraining said parts against separation, said latching means being deactuable in response to severance of said fuse-link for determining the normal restraining efiect thereof.

19. A housed fuse comprising: a housing divided intermediately of its length to form two complementary normally adjacent parts one of which is fixed and the other movable relatively to the fixed part to eilect separation therebetween, each of said parts being recessed complementarily to the other to form a substantially continuous fuse-chamber extending lengthwise of the housing, a pair of spaced terminals, each carried by one of said parts individually and disposed within said fuse-chamber, said movable part being biased for movement away from the other, fuse structure within said fuse-chamber including an expulsion cartridge extending lengthwise of said chamber and a fuse-link extending through said cartridge and normally electrically interconnecting said terminals, and latching means dependent upon the integrity of said fuse-link for normally restraining said movable part against movement away from said fixed part, said latching means being deactuable in response to severance of said fuse-link for determining the normal restraining eifect thereof.

20. A housed fuse comprising: a housing divided intermediately of its length to form two complementary normally adjacent parts disposed one above the other, one of said parts being fixed and the other movable relatively to the fixed part -to effect separation therebetween, means for limiting the extent of separation between said parts, each of said parts being recessed complementarily to the other to form a substantially continuous fuse-chamber extending lengthwise of the housing, a pair of spaced terminals, each carried by one of said parts individually and disposed within said fuse-chamber, said movable part being biased for movement away from the other, fuse structure within said fuse-chamber including an expulsion cartridge extending lengthwise of said chamber and a fuse-link extending through said cartridge and normally electrically interconnecting said terminals, and latching means dependent upon the integrity oi said fuse-link for normally restraining said movable part against movement away from said fixed part, said latching means being deactuable in response to severance of said fuse-link for determining the normal restraining effect thereof.

21. A housed fuse comprising: a housing divided intermediately of its length to form two complementary normally adjacent parts disposed one above the other, the upper one of said parts being fixed, the lower one of said parts being movable downwardly to a limited extent under influence of gravity to effect separation between said parts, each of said parts being recessed complementarily to the other to form a substantially continuous fuse-chamber extending lengthwise of the housing, a pair of spaced terminals, each carried by one of said parts individually and disposed within said fuse-chamber, fuse structure within said fuse-chamber including an expulsion cartridge extending lengthwise of said chamber and a fuse link extending through said cartridge and normally electrically interconnecting said terminals, and latching means dependent upon the integrity of said fuse-link for normally restraining said movable part against downward movement away from said fixed part, said latching means being deactuable in response to severance of said fuse-link for determining the normal restraining eifect thereof.

22. A housed fuse comprising: a housing divided intermediately of its length to form two complementary normally adjacent parts at least one of which is movable relatively to the other to effect separation therebetween, each of said parts being recessed complementarily to the other to form a substantially continuous fuse-chamber extending lengthwise of the housing, a pair of spaced terminals, each carried by one of said parts individually and disposed within said fusech'amber, the movable part or parts of said housing being biased for movement away from the other, a fuse-link within said fuse-chamber normally electrically interconnecting said terminals, and latching means dependent upon the integrity of said fuse-link for normally restraining said parts against separation, said latching means being deactuable in response to severance of said fuse-link for determining the normal restraining effect thereof 23. A housed fuse comprising: a housing divided intermediately of its length to form two complementary normally adjacent parts disposed one above the other, the upper one of said parts being fixed, the lower one of said parts being hinged for movement downwardly to a limited extent under influence of gravity to effect separation between said parts, each of said parts being recessed complementarily to the other to form a substantially continuous fuse-chamber extending lengthwise of the housing, a pair of spaced terminals, each carried by one of said parts individually and disposed within said fuse-chamber, a fuse-link within said fuse-chamber normally electrically interconnecting said terminals, and latching means dependent upon the integrity of said fuse-link for normally restraining said parts against separation, said latching means being deactuable in response to severance of said fuselink for determining the normal restraining effect thereof. a

WILLIAM O. SCHULTZ.

ALWIN G. STEINMAYER. 

